The Hunter Redux
by seraphim2db
Summary: What if Wesley never joined back with the Angel Investigations team in season four. Wanting to revisit his past, he leaves LA and goes to Africa. While there he meets up with some old friends and a new series of events happen to him.
1. Prologue

**The Hunter Redux**

What if Wesley never joined back with the Angel Investigations team in season four. Wanting to revisit his past, he leaves LA and goes to Africa. While there he meets up with some old friends and a new series of events happen to him.

A/N Takes place two days after the episode Deep Down in season four. Warning this fic will not be Wesley/Fred friendly and it will be angtsy. You've been warned.

Prologue

Africa

Wesley sat alone in the dirtiest, darkest, hell hole of a bar imaginable drinking himself silly. As soon as he had gotten off the airplane from LA to Africa, he found the seediest bar possible so he could drink and forget about his past life. He knew he was wrong for taking Connor, but he was only trying to save the boys life.

'And what did I get in return for that?' Wesley thought to himself as he downed a shot of scotch, before pouring himself some more. 'My throat cut and for my friends to abandon me.'

Drinking down another shot, the powerful liquid burning all the way down, he thought about his last night in the city of angels.

Flashback

"You really don't give a damn about any of us, do you?" Fred asked as Wesley turned around from packing a suitcase and gave her an increduous look. "And where are you going?"

"Somehow, I don't think that's any of your business." Wesley answered as he continued to pack his things. "I'm not apart of the team anymore remember."

"Then why are you keep helping us?" Fred asked as she put her arms over her chest.

"As I told you before, I'm done here." Wesley said as he met her gaze. "And I also believe that you're the one who told me too never come around again." he reminded her, only for her to feel ashamed.

"That's only because, I thought..."

"I know what you thought." he cut her off. "Now at the risk of sounding rude, get the hell out of my home."

Taken aback by his attitude Fred walked to the door and held her hand on the door knob for a couple of seconds. In those few seconds she remembered all the good times they had together and what might have been between them. But out of lack of anything to say, she opened the door and did as he requested. She got the hell out of his apartment, closing the door behind her.

"You were kinda harsh on her, weren't you lover?" Lilah whispered into his ear as she stepped out of the other room.

"It doesn't matter now." Wesley said as he looked from Lilah to the door. "Because, I'm leaving."

"And you're going where exactly?" she asked as she grabbed him around the shoulders and made him look at her.

"Honestly, I don't know." Wes said as he let out a heavy sigh. "But, I want you to come with me."

"What?"

"You heard me." Wesley said suddenly getting excited. "Just you and me. We'll go where ever you want."

"And you know that I can't do that." Lilah said with a wide smile. "But thanks for thinking about me."

"Damn, WolfRam and Hart Lilah."

'I already did.' she thought to herself as she caressed his chin with her thumb and kissed him on the cheek. "Now enjoy your trip and bring me back something pretty." she said as she walked to the door.

"Lilah..."

"Wesley, you have a signed one dollar bill in your wallet." she said suddenly getting serious. "I think just that one little thing tells both of us how we feel about one another. Let's just leave it at that."

End Flashback

'Bloody women.' Wesley thought bitterly to himself as he closed his eyes and rubbed the shot glass along his forehead.

"Hey you're in my favorite chair!" a gruff voice said as he put his meaty hand on Wesley's shoulder.

"I don't recall seeing your name on it." and that was the last thing Wesley got to say as a chair broke over his head. Before he lost conciousness on the dirty floor, he saw someone from his past hovering over him and then nothing.

TBC...

Please Review


	2. Chapter 1 Buried

A/N Thanks for the great reviews Ruth Quist, LoganAlpha30 and Cursedgirl. And yes LoganAlpha, Faith will be apart of the story later on. And I'm really glad you guys liked my story so far.

Chapter 1

Buried

Feeling something cool being placed on his forehead and something wet dripping down his brow, forced Wesley to open his eyes. As they adjusted to the little light that dared enter the room from a small window, he saw a beautiful black girl with long black hair, probably about eighteen years of age putting a damp wash cloth on his head, sitting in a chair, and smiling down at him.

"Father!" she yelled as she put the cloth in a brown bowl at her side and stood to her feet. "Uncle Wesley just woke up."

'Uncle?' Wes immediately thought to himself as he sat up in the small cot. He then immediately knew that he wasn't in his hotel room. As the fog settled from his mind, he remembered a bar and then a bar fight. Looking around the tiny room at the african artifacts on the wall, his eyes widened as a tall muscular figure suddenly loomed over his bed.

"Why is it that, I'm always saving your ass?" a giant of a black man asked as he smiled down at Wesley. The man looked like a life like version of the incredible hulk, but just like the fictional character he seemed to carry a gentle spirit about himself. Looking at the man a little closer he finally realized who he was.

"Ndulu?"

"So you remember." Ndulu said with a wide smile, showing the gap in between his teeth.

The two had met a long time ago before Wesley had become a Watcher. Truth be told if it wasn't for Ndulu he never would have become a Watcher in the first place. In order for any student of the Watcher's academy to graduate and become an active Watcher they had to slay a demon or a vampire. To make sure he wasn't a dissappointment Roger Wyndam-Pryce, his father, took him to Africa to slay a local demon that was terrorizing a local village.

Roger tracked the demon down and left Wesley alone with it. Being a coward at the time, Wes ran only to bump into Ndulu and his tribe, who were also hunting the demon. Ndulu killed the demon but Roger thought that Wesley had done so. Wes was about to tell the truth, but Ndulu lied for him saying that Wesley was very brave. In return for that lie, Wes had to take part in a symbolic ritual, one that would make he and his new friend brothers. And that was almost twelve years ago.

"So do you remember me Uncle Wes?" the girl asked as she stood beside her father.

"Caimile?" Wes asked as he stood to his feet and looked at her. "But you were only six the last time I saw you."

"It's been twelve years brother." Ndulu said as he put a hand on Wesley's shoulder. "Now what are you doing here?"

"That's a long story." Wes said letting out a long suffering sigh.

"Tell me over lunch then." Ndulu said putting his arm around his daughter's shoulder. "My daughter will fix us a feast." as he said that she had a pained look on her face. One that didn't go unnoticed by Wesley.

* * *

"So where is your wife Tapanga? I haven't seen her in a long time." Wesley asked as Caimile put trays of food on the table. As soon as he said her mother's name she clumsily dropped a plate of food on the floor. 

Giving her a strange look, Wesley bent down to help her.

"My wife died almost three years ago."

"I'm sorry." Wesley said as he closed his eyes to take in the news. Tapanga was a beautiful woman and he knew that she loved Ndulu and her daughter. "How did she die?"

"A demon." he answered. Wesley gave him a look that clearly said, why are you talking about this in front of your child, but he just waved his concern off. "It's alright. She knows all about demons and vampires. There aren't any secrets between us and it's better for her to know, so she knows how to avoid them."

"I see."

"Where did you get that from?" Caimile asked as she pointed at the scar on Wesley's neck. To her surprise he looked saddened at the question.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Let's just eat." Ndulu said changing the subject. "We'll have plenty of time to talk about that later. As soon as your uncle moves in with us of course." seeing that he was about to protest his offer, Ndulu beat him to the punch. "And no but's. You're staying with us and that's final."

With a smile on his face, Wesley accepted the offer. 'Maybe my luck is changing for the better after all."

Later That Night

Wesley sat alone in his room with a bottle of whiskey in his hand. As he leaned back in his chair he took a silver 9mm from its holster, that layed on his desk.

Sitting the bottle down he ejected a round and tried to catch it in his hand. No good. Chambering another round, he tried again but still no success. Finally putting it to his head, he had a second thought and angrily sat it back down on the desk.

To be honest with himself, he contemplated suicide many times before he left LA, but thinking back over his life it wasn't worth it. And then he thought about his brother and niece and how good and accepting they were of him.

'I can't do this.' Suddenly someone put their hand on his shoulder, startling him.

"I think it's time for us to talk." Ndulu stated as he looked from the whiskey, to his gun, then finally to Wesley.

"It's a long story." Wesley slurred out, as he finally put the bottle down.

"And I have time for it brother."

"Where...where do I begin?" Wes asked more to himself, then his friend. "Let's start with Sunnydale. It was my first attempt at being a field Watcher and I failed. My Slayer went rogue and killed someone. I tried...I tried to get control over her." he stopped as he sub-conciously rubbed at the scars she had given him, during her night of torture. "Then I came to LA after the Council fired me as a Watcher and after my failed attempt at being a rouge demon hunter. When I went there I...I thought I found another family."

"What happened?" Ndulu asked as he leaned against Wesley's desk.

"There was a prophecy, that I now know to be false, that said my boss was going to kill his son."

"So you took the boy." Ndulu deduced.

"Yes how did you know..."

"I know you have a good heart, Wesley. I can see it in your eyes that you tried to do the right thing, but what I don't understand is how you got that?" he asked pointing at the scar on his neck. Letting out a sigh Wesley began his story.

"I was double crossed. I had the boy in my arms ready to leave Los Angeles and an enemy of the team came to me crying about being beaten. I was prepared to take her with me and when I turned my back..."

"She slit your throat." he finished for Wes.

"That's not all. I know I was wrong for taking Connor but my friends didn't understand and they turned their backs on me."

"Then forget about them brother." Ndulu said putting a hand on his shoulder. "Stay here in Africa with me and my daughter. Just bury your past and start anew."

Taking his words literally, after their talk Wesley took his small silver weapons case, put both of his twin glocks in it, and buried them in the back yard.

The Next Morning

Feeling refreshed Wesley walked down the staircase of his brothers mansion. It still surprised him how far Ndulu had come up in life, because the last time he saw him he was dirt poor. The talk they had really helped and now he was considering actually staying.

"Sorry." he blurted out as he bumped into somebody. Looking to see who it was he saw that it was his niece Caimile. He still couldn't believe that she turned from a cute little girl to a tall exotic beauty.

"It's okay, uncle Wes." she replied as he helped her off the floor.

"Where's your father?"

"He had to go into town to handle some business. He should be back later on tonight."

"Alright, now where are you going?" he asked as he looked down at the black ceremonial looking robes she was wearing.

"Oh um...I have a religious meeting to get too." she replied nervously. "The Sisterhood can't do this without their Bantu."

'The Sisterhood? Bantu?' Wesley thought to himself. 'Why does that sound so familiar?'

"I'll see you later." she said kissing him on the cheek. "Don't wait up."

His suspicion peeked, after watching Caimile leave, he ran to his room to do some research.

* * *

"What took you so long?" a figure in the shadows asked as Caimile entered a cave. Other figures loomed behind her as she put down her backpack. 

"I was just saying hello to my uncle." she answered.

"We don't have time to waste. Come with us to be cleansed." the lead figure announced as she reached out a demonic hand.

Later That Night

Wesley breathed heavily, with sweat pouring down his face as he started to dig his silver weapons case back up. He had did some research on what the word Bantu meant and found that it was an old african word that meant sacrifice. Looking deeper into the word he found that only one demonic cult used that term. It was a different sect of the Sisterhood of Jhe, the demon cult that was stopped in Sunnydale some years back. Even though he wasn't a part of stopping them, he had heard about them from Mr. Giles.

What was important for him to know at the moment was why his niece was involved with them. If she only knew what the sacrifice of her life would bring, she would cry in shame. Digging deeper and deeper into the earth, his shovel finally struck something metal making him smile with relief. Popping the padlock with the head of the shovel, he reached down and grabbed both of his silver glocks. Hopefully he wasn't too late to save her.

Caimile layed down on a large slab of rock with her eyes closed. A group of the Sisterhood of Jhe hovered over her, with one of them holding a knife over her ready to plunge it in her heart.

"Are you ready to see your mother again?" the knife holding demon asked.

"Ye..." but Caimile was cut off as the loud retort of a gun went off. Knife clattering to the ground, the demon fell over dead with a huge hole in it's head. As the others demons and Caimile looked back they saw a man standing at the entrance of the cave, with the barrel of his glock still smoking.

"I don't think so."

"Uncle Wes?" Caimile asked with wide eyes. 'How did he find...he must've read the note I left for my father, in my room.'

Lowering his right arm to his side, a sword telescoped from under his sleeve. As the first demon ran towards him, Wesley stabbed it through the stomach and twisted making the demon howl and scream in pain. Before he could take it out however, another one of the bluish grey creatures, ran up beside him and ripped the mechanism off of his arm completely, before throwing him up against a cave wall.

Crashing down to the dusty floor, he waited until the demon came closer before kicking it in the knee. As it came falling down beside him, he flicked a knife from under his jacket and instantly stabbed it in the back. Looking up, he saw the last one trying to plunge a ceremonial knife into Caimile. Flipping his own knife in his hand, he threw it and watched as it embedded itself in the back of the demons head.

As the last of the Sisterhood of Jhe members fell, Wes stood to his feet, picked up his assorted weapons and glared at his niece.

* * *

"What the hell were you doing back there?" Wesley asked as they walked out of the entrance of the cave and grabbed her arm. His jeep was further ahead and it illuminated them with it's headlights. 

"It's none of your business, uncle!" Caimile growled back as she jerked her arm free.

"You were about to let a bunch of demons kill you. So I say that is my business."

"You just don't understand." she replied as she turned around to walk off, only for him to grab her and turn her back around.

"No you don't understand. If you had of aloud the Sisterhood of Jhe to sacrifice you then they would have reactivated the hellmouth in Africa."

"What?" Caimile asked as she took a step back. Those demons had lied to her.

"Yes and apparantly the hellmouth here is the ending point of the deeper well." Wes informed her. "They needed a willing virgin female on this specific night to open up the hellmouth. But instead of just opening it up, if your blood had of flowed through it then it would have awakened some if not all of the old ones."

"No...no you're lying." Caimile reasoned as tears stung at her eyes. "They told me..."

"I don't give a damn what they told you!" Wesley seemed to scream. Seeing the hurtful look in her eyes he calmed down. "Just...just tell me why?"

"They told me that I would see momma again." she said as she fully broke down and fell into his arms. Looking down at her, saddened himself Wesley pulled her into a hug.

"You see your mother everyday." Wes whispered into her ear as he started to rock her back and forth. "Everytime you look into the mirror you see her."

"B...b...but it's not the same."

"I know. Believe me I know." he said sharing her pain. He had lost a few friends and family members of his own in the past and he knew how she felt. "But your mum lived her life and I know that she would've wanted you to do the same. And what about your father, you know he loves you."

"No he...he just uses me to cook and clean for him. Ever since momma died he stopped loving me." she cried into his shoulder.

"That's rubbish." Wes assured. "He loves you very much and he couldn't stop talking about you all night."

"Uncle Wes I'm sorry...I...just take me home please." she pleaded as she looked up at him.

"Alright, just wait for me in the jeep." he said letting her go. "I'm going to make sure that all of them are dead."

As the two walked their seperate ways, Wesley was about to reach the mouth of the cave when suddenly the ground under him gave way. Falling through a sink hole, he let out a short scream as he fell about twenty feet to a dirt floor.

"Uncle Wes." Caimile asked as she looked down the hole.

"I'm alright." Wes shouted up at her as dirt showered down on him. Letting out a low wince, he stood to his feet, took a small flashlight out of his pocket, and looked around. "I appear to be in some sort of underground cave."

As the narrow beam of light from his flashlight scanned the room, it stopped on a far wall that had a skeleton chained up against a wall.

"What do you want me to do?" Caimile asked.

"Just get the rope from the back of my jeep and tie one end to the bumper and throw the other end to me." Wes said not taking his eyes off of the skeleton. For some reason he was drawn to it. As if it were calling to him.

Reaching out to examine it, he saw that it was holding something in it's hand.

"What the hell is this?" he asked himself. Taking it he saw that it was an all black cloth mask with three red lines running down the face of it, that looked like claw marks. Judging by the looks of the skeleton, the mask shouldv'e been nothing but rags. But other than a little dirt on it, there was nothing wrong with the mask at all.

"Uncle Wes, I'm ready!" Caimile shouted down to him, as she threw down the rope. Turning away from the skeleton, Wes grabbed for the rope. If he had of been paying better attention, he would have seen that a black mist came out of the mouth of the chained skeleton and went into the mask. When it hit, the eye holes of the mask glowed a milky white for a second, before going back to normal.

Still not noticing that anything was wrong, Caimile put the jeep in drive and started to pull her uncle out of the hole, after he put the mask in his back pocket and held onto the rope. Little did they know but their lives were about to change forever.

A/N Ndulu didn't hit Wesley with the chair. He was just going to the bar for a drink and recognized Wes so after the guy hit him, he saved his butt. The name Ndulu also means brother, if anyone was wondering. Also if you want a picture of how Caimile looks then send a review requesting it, along with an email and I'll send it to you. If you have any other questions just ask.

TBC...

Please Review


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